The subject invention is directed to a connection arrangement for joining a plate or wall element to a support base or frame.
The invention is especially suited for use in the motor vehicle art for joining a wall panel or covering to a body frame or base component and will be described with particular reference thereto; however, the invention is capable of broader application and could be used for joining similar structural elements in other environments.
In my prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,223 which is incorporated herein by reference, there is shown and described a connection arrangement for the noted purposes which includes a molded plastic, lower holding element that is connectable into an opening in the support frame. The lower holding element carries a head piece having spherical segmented form which clips into a correspondingly profiled opening in a tubular section of an upper connecting element that joins to the wall panel or covering. Preferably, the head piece of spherical segmented form is on an intermediate element which allows lateral adjustment to take place to compensate for misalignment between the lower holding element and the upper holding element.
The subject invention has as its primary objective the improvement of the connection between the upper element and the spherical segment head piece of the center component in such a manner that, on one hand, easy installation is achieved, while on the other hand, high withdrawal forces must be applied in order to separate the connection.